ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 542 / C&RL News T h e m ission o f a university u n d erg ra d u a te library: M odel statem en t P rep ared by th e ACRL U n d ergrad u ate L ibrarians D iscu ssion Group a n d the ULS Steering C om m ittee Approved by the AC RL Board at Annual Conference in San Francisco and submitted to the A LA Standards Committee fo r final review. T he purpose of the undergraduate library is to take prim ary responsibility for meeting the library needs of undergraduate students in a large univer­ sity environment. The designation of a separate li­ brary expressly for undergraduates is based on the premise th at undergraduates deserve a full and fair share of the libraries’ resources—materials, ser­ vices, and staff time. The policies of the separate undergraduate library may frequently give prefer­ ential treatm ent to undergraduates to ensure this allocation of resources. The nature of the environ­ ment, the specific needs of undergraduates, and the kinds of staff and services required to effec­ tively meet those needs are more fully described in the following paragraphs. Environment The library systems of large universities gener­ ally consist of several major departm ental libraries plus numerous special libraries and reading rooms spread over a large campus area. The materials col­ lection of the library system is measured in millions of volumes. Each library w ithin the system concen­ trates on the needs of the members of a specific de­ partm ent or field of study, and the quality of the library is defined in terms of the strengths of the re­ search collection. Specialized services are often provided for those doing research, such as com put­ erized searching of commercial resource databases. The staff members of those libraries are selected for their ability to provide graduate-level reference services, to organize complex collections, and to se­ lect the often esoteric materials needed in a re­ search library. In-depth subject knowledge and managerial skills are also frequently required. Users W ithin this research-oriented setting, there are large num bers of undergraduate students w ith varying levels of experience and ability in using li­ braries. As a group most first-year students share the following characteristics: 1. They do not yet have the sophisticated re­ search skills needed to exploit the research library’s potential. 2. They are intim idated by the complexity and size of a large library system. 3. They are often reluctant to ask for assistance October 1987 / 543 in the use of a library. 4. They are unaw are of the many services and re­ sources which are available in university libraries. The needs of academic library users are on a spectrum , w ith study space, instruction in basic re­ search tools, and reserve books at one end, and p ri­ m ary source materials and special bibliographic services at the other end. The concentration of needs of the undergraduate is at the form er end of the spectrum and the undergraduate library fo­ cuses on serving these needs. The undergraduate li­ brary may also serve the inform ational needs of other users, including members of the civic com­ m unity. Information services An undergraduate library w ith a collection of the size and nature required to meet undergradu­ ate needs is not always easy to use. The identifica­ tion of materials w anted is often confusing and may be incomprehensible until the user is actually shown how the system works. Teaching students how to use a library is therefore a basic service pro­ vided by the staff of the undergraduate library. The teaching programs of undergraduate libraries are varied. They include teaching by personal con­ tact and through the preparation of printed and other m aterials. They include form al group in ­ struction and inform al, unstructured contacts with students. The program s generally include three types of activities: reference and referral, orienta­ tion, and formal instruction. Reference encounters w ith undergraduates of­ ten result not only in answering specific questions, but also in personalized instruction in the methods of identifying and retrieving library m aterials. Supplemental to this personal contact is the provi­ sion of bibliographies, booklists, and other aids de­ signed to introduce undergraduates to the m ateri­ als available in the library and to guide them in finding the materials. The reference service pro­ vided by undergraduate librarians is also a referral service to the wide variety of resources in the li­ brary system. Referrals may also assist an under­ g rad u ate in becom ing aw are of com m unity li­ b raries an d in fo rm atio n centers, as w ell as of personal supportive services including academic, financial, health, and counseling services. O rientation activities acquaint undergraduates w ith the facilities and services of the library. They include activities such as the distribution of maps and inform ational materials th a t describe the li­ brary system and the resources and services of the individual libraries w ithin it, staff–conducted tours for groups, and self-guided tours. O rientation may also include public relations activities th a t help stu­ dents become aw are of the services and resources of the library. Bibliographic instruction programs should im ­ prove the ability of students to make effective use of the library collections, services, and staff. Instruc­ tion may be offered as p art of coursework in an aca­ demic subject or interdisciplinary program , in a separate course on library skills, in workshops and term -paper clinics, and through point-of-use aids in the library. Reference service, bibliographic instruction, and orientation activities are appropriate for all levels and types of library users. The undergradu­ ate library focuses on two problems th at are p artic­ ularly com m on to u n d erg rad u ates—finding the materials they need, and knowing when to ask for help and having the confidence to do so. Under­ graduate libraries provide a laboratory in which to teach students how to use a library. The experience of using an undergraduate library is preparation for using all libraries; preparation not merely for graduate work and research, but also for learning to use inform ation sources th a t will be needed by undergraduates for the rest of their lives as citizens, as consumers, in their professions, and for their rec­ reational interests. Collection The subject scope of the undergraduate library will prim arily support the teaching curriculum . A given undergraduate library would operate at one of the following collecting levels: 1) at the level of freshman and sophomore classes; 2) at all levels of undergraduate classwork; 3) at all levels except in disciplines su p p o rted by specialized subject li­ braries or professional schools w ith undergraduate programs, in which cases bibliographic support by the undergraduate library will be at the freshman and sophomore level. Since m any undergraduate courses require large numbers of students to read the same library materials, direct curriculum sup­ port will be provided through reserve collections and through purchase of m ultiple copies of items w ith high dem and. The undergraduate library will provide not only the best materials of historical or research value (which m ight be duplicated in other libraries on campus) but also overviews of a subject, jargon- free explanations of a field, and introductory m ate­ rials. Research reports and other items restricted to a very narrow subject area are less frequently of in­ terest to undergraduates and will be purchased very selectively. The undergraduate library’s col­ lection of periodical reference m aterial will con­ centrate on the more standard and interdiscipli­ n a ry p e rio d ic a l indexes, since these are m ost heavily used by undergraduates; the periodical col­ lections should em phasize the titles covered by these indexes. Collections of course-related m ateri­ als for undergraduate use have increased in the for­ mats available and in content reliability and the appropriate additional resources for undergradu­ ate study. Increasingly the undergraduate library- will need to supply non-print materials (with bib­ liographic access) and well-m aintained equipm ent in order to address growing availability and de­ m and. 544 / C& RL News U ndergraduates select from a wide variety of courses and are therefore looking for library m ate­ rials on a wide variety of subjects in order to meet course requirem ents. The subject range of the u n ­ dergraduate library will be of sufficient com pre­ hensiveness and depth so th at, in general, the u n ­ dergraduate will have a single starting point from which to find the basic inform ation needed for p a ­ pers, speeches, projects, etc. More advanced needs of undergraduates will be met by specific referral to graduate collections. The inform ation needs of undergraduates ex­ tend beyond the requirem ents of the curriculum . U ndergraduate students are vitally interested in current events and in the current state of the world. T he developm ent of cultural, career, and health and recreational interests is also an im portant p a rt of the life of an individual, and the undergraduate years are a tim e for exploring the wide range of ac­ tivities and opportunities available. The library ex­ perience of undergraduates should encourage them to seek m aterials in these areas. The collections of the undergraduate library will therefore be devel­ oped to m eet these needs, since this is as im portant to undergraduate education and to the mission of the university as is the support of formal classroom instruction. Staff The staff of the undergraduate library must have certain abilities in addition to their inform ation­ seeking skills. The ability to interact on a one-to- one basis w ith a diverse clientele is essential. Staff should also be able to design and im plem ent in­ structional program s th a t meet varied user needs. In addition, they should be able to interact w ith faculty in prom oting effective use of library re­ sources in relation to classroom activities. The abil­ ity to cooperate w ith staff of other libraries and re­ source centers is also needed. The staff of an undergraduate library must have understanding of the pressures of campus life and a Personnel consultants A list of librarians who consult on hum an re­ source m anagem ent issues and conduct w ork­ shops on personnel topics is now in preparation by th e Personnel A d m in istra tio n Section of ALA’s L ib ra ry A dm inistration and M anage­ m ent Association. Individuals who w ant to be listed in this p u b ­ lication must com plete an application form, providing inform ation about experience, refer­ ences, and personal data. A modest application fee will also be required to assist w ith the p u b li­ cation costs. A pplications m ay be requested from : Jim Neal, E505 Pattee L ibrary, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. concern for undergraduate needs and problems. The library staff should trea t undergraduates w ith respect, make them feel com fortable in the library, and encourage them to ask for help. Only this p er­ sonal interaction w ith students will hum anize their library contacts, open paths of com m unication for their grow th in using libraries, and increase their respect for libraries. Study facilities The environm ent of the undergraduate library should encourage the use of the library and its re­ sources. The hours of operation must accom m o­ date a range of student requirem ents based on class tim es, w o rk c o m m itm e n ts, a n d v a rie d social habits. M any undergraduates live in environm ents which are not conducive to study; others simply prefer to study at a library. The undergraduate li­ brary should provide sufficient study spaces, based on the size of the student population, in a variety of seating to accom m odate student needs and habits, e.g., quiet study of own m aterials, study w ith ac­ cess to library resources, lim ited group study, and inform al interaction. Development As undergraduate education changes, so must undergraduate library service. The undergraduate library must be innovative and experim ental, alert to changing undergraduate needs, and must often adopt non-traditional library methodology. C u r­ rent areas of developm ent m ight include the fol­ lowing: •C o n tin u in g exploration of effective use of li­ brary m aterials in support of classroom teaching. •E x p an d in g program s of bibliographic instruc­ tion. •Service to special groups, e .g ., the visually im ­ paired, the disadvantaged, or international stu­ dents. •In te g ra tio n of new and/or advanced technolo­ gies such as com puter systems, m icrocom puters, video or optical disks as appropriate. • C o o p e ra tiv e p ro g ram s w ith o th e r cam pus units, such as tutoring and counseling services. Developments in some of these areas m ay be at the lib rary system level ra th e r th a n exclusively w ithin the undergraduate library. However, it is the responsibility of the u n d e rg ra d u a te lib rary staff to shape these developments to m eet the needs of undergraduates and their academ ic program s. Note: This revision was prepared by the following people w ith approval by the Undergraduate L i­ brarians Discussion Group and the Steering C om ­ m itte e o f th e U n iversity L ib ra rie s Section o f A C R L : T h o m a s F ry, D eb o ra h Biggs, Sandra W ard, Robert Merikangas, M olly M ahony, R o­ land Person, and W ilm a Reid Cipolla. ■ ■